Rhino roach housing

scottbot84

scottbot84

Third Instar
Hi all,

I'm lucky enough to soon have two pairs of 1 year old rhino roaches.

The two males I have are housed together since they are not sexually mature and are the same size. The two females I am getting are likely a bit smaller but are only a few months younger.

Should I:

A. House them separately, since they are solitary in the wild.

B. House the males and females separately until they are mature?

C. House the pairs separately?

Not sure what works best and there isn't a lot of margin of error with only 4 individuals. Definitely thinking 2 enclosures minimum as insurance against issues in one enclosure or another.

 
I mean it probably doesn't really matter, but if it's potentially harmful variables between the two enclosures that you are worried about, I'd keep a male and a female together in each enclosure. 

 
That's kind of what I thought, my thinking is that it's easier to monitor them and I won't need to change anything as they mature. Otherwise all my eggs in are in one basket (almost literally) and I will need to watch for signs of male aggression to know when to separate them.

I think right now I will plan to house the males and females separately for a short time to quarantine and then house them in pairs after that.

It doesn't sound like there is any aggression except between mature males. 

 
scottbot84 said:
That's kind of what I thought, my thinking is that it's easier to monitor them and I won't need to change anything as they mature. Otherwise all my eggs in are in one basket (almost literally) and I will need to watch for signs of male aggression to know when to separate them.

I think right now I will plan to house the males and females separately for a short time to quarantine and then house them in pairs after that.

It doesn't sound like there is any aggression except between mature males. 
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Yeah that'd probably be the best way to go IMO. :) Weird, I didn't think males were all that territorial, I think most people keep theirs in groups of several pairs in one or two big bins, (removing babies as they're found). 

 
I could be looking at outdated care info, or could just be overly cautious :)  
It doesn't sound like I need to worry too much, but considering the investment it pays to stay on the safe side.

 
scottbot84 said:
I could be looking at outdated care info, or could just be overly cautious :)  
It doesn't sound like I need to worry too much, but considering the investment it pays to stay on the safe side.
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I kind of think care info is either true, false, or more complicated than that. I don't think husbandry parameter data can actually be outdated if it worked at one time. I think this one is more complicated. If you have the space and time I think keeping medium to large specimens separately most of the time is great since there is some aggression that may over years stress out and kill weaker animals, however you may keep them all together without any of them dying prematurely (or if one dies at 6 years instead of 8 or 9 instead of 7,  how would you know?).

 
By time I meant it takes less time to feed, water, and clean one enclosure so if you have them separate and don't have the time you might kill one that way in a few years.

 
That makes sense, I don't see a big difference in care in this case with 2 enclosures vs 1.

With other animals where I've had immature males together that will become aggressive at maturity and it can be hard to know when they need to be separated.

Aggression isn't always super obvious also, so it's hard to know when animals are stressed until there are symptoms (stunted growth, die off, etc.).

The size discrepancy is pretty small overall, so I'll keep monitoring and adjusting as needed.

 
I hope you don't mind me jumping in on this thread. What method do you use to keep your substrate from drying out? I've got two rhino nymphs in a potting soil/coir/sand mix. I'm currently misting one half of their enclosure whenever the substrate looks dried out. Since I don't always know where they are, I'm hesitant to move their substrate around too frequently. They seem content, but I'm always open to new or better ways of doing things. I'd love to hear what works for you :)  

 
No I don't mind at all. I just use a tub with a latching lid with 2 holes (top and 1 end) I cut with a hole saw. I then glued plastic mesh to keep other bugs out.

That's pretty much my standard setup now, ventilation on one end seems to allow for a humidity gradient when only misting the unventilated side.

Hope that helps.

 
I'll be needing to change the substrate for my macros soon. Do you have any suggestions for organic potting soil? I'm having a horrible time finding a brand that doesn't have pesticides or Perlite. Thanks in advance!

 
I've had decent luck with a mix of coconut fiber and miracle grow organic raised bed soil, although I do find the soil has little bit of plastic sometimes, which don't really pose a problem once removed

 
Thank you for the suggestion! It's been hard to come by reliable information and I am super paranoid about doing the wrong thing with these little guys. 

 
I've not found them to be particularly delicate, although the cost definitely makes you more careful.

They really aren't all that picky about substrate unless you make it deep enough for them to construct tunnels, which doesn't seem to be necessary and can actually be risky if the mixture is incorrect.

@Peter Clausen posted a good video recently that might help



 
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